The early 80s and 90s were a great time for Mitsubishi. The world was embracing Japanese vehicles. Apart from impressing us in rally, the Japanese automaker wanted to penetrate a thriving luxury vehicle segment harshly dominated by European contenders like the BMW 5 Series and Volvo 240.
While dominated by European automakers, the luxury sedan market still had Japanese entries for North America. Mazda had the 929, Nissan the Maxima, and Acura the Legend. These brands gained popularity since they offered 'some' luxury for a fraction of the price.
The trend isn't any different today. You can still opt for a Toyota Crown instead of a Mercedes-Benz S-Class. While it's not remotely comparable in features and tech, you still get to enjoy the creature comforts at a significantly slashed price.
While borrowing a lot from the popular Galant trim, the Mitsubishi Sigma is reminiscent of a Volvo. The long nose, boxy headlights, and meshed interior have a Euro-Asian feel. The taillights have a box-painted pattern reminiscent of the Nissan 300ZX, and the mud flaps match the paint (totally '90s design).
Under the hood, the Sigma came with a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter V6 mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission making 142 HP and 228 Nm of torque. It wasn't the fastest in a straight line and could do the 0 to 62 mph (100 kph) in 10.3-seconds and complete a quarter-mile in 17.6 seconds.
The interior was pretty decent, though it lacked one primary ingredient other luxury vehicles offered - space. Despite the long boxy shape, the Sigma doesn't feel quite as spacious as it should feel.
Still, the Japanese automaker went nine yards with the creature's comfort on the bright side. It had power windows as standard, a sports mode button (Power/Eco), radio control buttons on the steering wheel, equalizer band, air conditioning, and a two-tone leather interior.
The Mitsubishi Sigma didn't impress North Americans. It's not a popular car in the region. It, however, sold in good numbers in Norway, New Zealand, and Australia.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News